Monday, October 27, 2008

Our trip

It was amazing to spend a week together, just the four of us. The whole idea of "getting away" has never really been something we've done as a family before... just us, no other friends or family. It is rejuvenating in a way that I can not explain. It made me realize how great we are together, just the four of us. We have a rhythm that is all our own and it works so well for us. Our way of being together is full of joy, lots of activity, plenty of peaceful moments, sibling squabbles, two year old tantrums... you know.... the whole real deal. The thing that is so precious is that it's "ours". The realization that we're a "family" just bowled me over because I can remember a time just six years ago when I wanted all of it so badly. I think with the fatigue of child rearing and every day stressors I had lost sight of some of that.

A major focus of the week for our entire family was fishing! When my husband does anything, he does it whole hog. I mean this in a good way. It is one of the things I love about him. He is filled with energy and enthusiasm when he is interested in something. I can see the boy, that I didn't know then, in the man I know so well now. It is really incredibly sweet. But, hang on, because whatever he's focused on, the family will be consumed in. So, we all became intense fisherpersons. I caught the first and it was a skate. This looks very similar to a sting ray. Then there were days more of watching that pole to no avail. We waited. The fish laughed. Then he bought a bait net, and kind of learned to throw it. Good technique or no, he caught lots of mullet. Suddenly, we were no longer having to purchase those frozen bait. No... not us experienced fisherpersons! Then, in the last two days we were there two blue fish were caught. He says that each of the kids caught one, and laughs that he never caught a thing. Let me tell you, we ate those fish that night, sorting through the tiny bones, and claimed ourselves full! We were one proud group of fisherpersons.

There were plenty of moments like this playing in the sand and water. I got in lots of reading, knitting, sewing, and playing with the kids. I could have lived like this for days on end.

One of the things I will never forget is the two of them together on this vacation. We plan to do this trip once a year now, but I know that the dynamics between them will shift with the ebb and flow of their development. On this trip, though, they were so tight. They played together constantly. It could be argued that this was because there were no other kids around. I don't think so, though. They played for hours like this together, driving trucks, him following her (for now.) They dug sand, made cakes, played bakery, fished, ran, laughed, and got wet. On the last night there she told me she didn't like her bed anymore. I asked her why. She answered that she didn't like it because she wanted to sleep in the room with her brother like at home. I snuggled her close and marvelled at how often we receive exactly what we need.